


peccadillo

by embalmers



Series: the day-to-day [4]
Category: Ai no Kusabi
Genre: Alcohol, M/M, Smoking
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-30
Updated: 2020-06-30
Packaged: 2021-03-04 00:14:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,241
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24984406
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/embalmers/pseuds/embalmers
Summary: Love thrives when there is fairness. (Or maybe not.)
Relationships: Iason Mink/Riki
Series: the day-to-day [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1749532
Comments: 1
Kudos: 23





	peccadillo

For the fifth time in the past hour, Riki sighed in frustration. 

He had searched everywhere he could possibly think of. Every drawer, near the pool table, the bedroom and the balcony. This never happened; he always left his pack in the same place. It was like it had vanished. Putting all the items back in the last drawer and getting up off the floor, he frowned, scratching his head.

“Seriously, where are they?”

“What are you mumbling about?”

Startled, he let out a curse at how silently Iason could sneak up on him. Riki really wasn’t in the mood to deal with him right now but who knows, maybe the pain in his ass had seen them somewhere. 

“My cigarettes, I can’t find them anywhere,” he replied, avoiding asking outright for help but still getting the point across. He kept his back to Iason as he had another glance around the room.

“Ah, I took them.”

Riki had never turned around so fast.

“What do you mean you took them?!”

“They are unhealthy for you.”

Yeah, well, Iason was unhealthy for him and he somehow stuck around like a leech, why couldn’t the cigarettes too? The entitlement of this man. Everything that made his life of imprisonment even slightly easier was taken from him. Soon there was going to be nothing left.

“Give them back! They’re mine.”

But could he even really call anything _his_ anymore?

“No, Katze buys them for you with the money I pay him. Technically, they are mine.”

If his teeth weren’t bared and fists shaking before, then they were now. He did not care about any threats of punishment right now. 

“This isn’t fair! You’re an alcoholic!”

Iason just blinked in response and if Riki were not so enraged in that moment, he would have laughed at the way the usually poker faced man could pull an expression resembling shock.

“Excuse me?”

There were times when that phrase was uttered with much more menace, letting Riki know that he was in for true hell for talking back. This time, it seemed genuinely caught off guard, actually questioning what he had said. However he was not in any mood to be calmly explaining.

“Every night, wine, wine, wine. You’re even a day time drinker. You need that computer brain fixed or something?! You’re no better than I am!”

And for once, the other seemed to be considering the words he spat at him. Taking a breath, Riki unclenched his fists briefly.

“Hm, then I shall pose you a deal. I won’t drink as long as you don’t smoke.”

“No, where’s the deal where I get to smoke? I want that one.”

“That deal doesn’t exist.”

This was the best he was going to get, huh? Well, if he had to suffer, he wouldn’t mind dragging Iason down with him.

“Fine, fine.”

“Good boy Riki.”

“Well come on, you tossed all mine, you gotta do the same.”

They were standing in the kitchen, Cal waiting ever so patiently, as the two had bickered back and forth for a good few minutes. Poor kid.

Iason was poorly concealing his disdain about the whole arrangement. And Riki was loving it. Payback at it’s finest. Either Iason would trash all his super expensive, high quality fancy wine or he’d realize just how stupid this all was and call off the entire deal. Both options were a win for him. He really wanted the latter though; he was dying for a smoke.

The Blondie was glaring at him and Riki glared right back in defiance.

With reluctance, Iason finally tore his gaze away and faced his furniture.

“Dispose of all this wine,” he stated then strode out the room. The grimace on his face wasn’t overlooked by Riki.

Relishing in the tiny victory he’d achieved, he observed as one after the other the wine got thrown out by Cal. He knew for a fact that one was over 25 years old. And that one had a massive price tag. Seriously who decides those obnoxious prices anyway? Part of his brain must have absorbed Iason’s ramblings about this stupid stuff.

Once all of them were gone, Riki smiled to himself. The Blondie’s pain was his joy.

— One week later.

_“Forgive the impudence my friend, but you seem irritated lately. Is it that thing again?”_

‘That thing’ translating to Riki.

Irritated. Yes, he was beyond irritated. Curse whatever this blasted compulsion was that made him wrought up with worry over his pet’s undeniable mortality. And the lengths he now would go to for a chance of preventing it sooner than it should be. 

The logical side of him knew it was blasphemous to even consider the thought of missing alcohol; it couldn’t even affect him like it did humans.

(Then again, Blondies shouldn’t feel the need for sex and here he was.)

Despite it all, he was feeling what would equate to withdrawal symptoms and all he wanted was a glass to ease it all. So he had caved in.

Placing the bottle of wine he had just purchased on the counter, Iason looked up at his furniture watching over the scene.

“Cal, you will not tell Riki of this, understand?”

“Yes master.”

What he didn’t know couldn’t hurt him.

“Please I’m begging you, just one.”

Not even looking up at the other, Katze continued typing away. Babysitting wasn’t part of his job description.

“Katze!”

Or listening to whining.

“I heard you the first time brat.”

Mulling it over, it wasn’t like the kid would go and tell Iason. No, it was more that these were his favorite and he really didn’t want to waste them. But if it got him to shut up...

“You know I’d normally say no, but since Iason’s sneaking drinks too, have at it,” he tossed the pack in his drawer over to Riki.

“You’re a lifesaver man.”

When Riki entered the apartment, he could smell the wine on Iason. And in tow, Iason could smell the smoke on his pet.

There was the brief moment that their eyes locked where both of them knew but didn’t say a word. So the matter was ignored.

And within a week, things were back to normal when Iason placed a pack of cigarettes on the table like a peace offering as he sipped a glass of wine.

“See, now you know what it’s like. This is the one thing that keeps me from biting your head off all the time.”

“Yes, I understand that now.”

Although the night air felt as stagnant as ever in Eos, there was a slight chill to it tonight, giving Riki the excuse to not fuss too much about the Blondie’s arms wrapped around him while they stood.

“Why’d you even bother with that stupid deal anyway?”

He was a little curious. There was nothing for him to gain from it at all.

“Me undertaking the same as you is fair, no? It gives you an incentive. And is it so hard to grasp that I care about your health?”

Chucking his cigarette over the balcony, the mongrel couldn’t help but scowl. Yeah, it was hard to grasp. Yet there was a part deep down that he didn’t want to confront that knew just why that might be. That would explain a lot of the other’s actions. Riki wasn’t ready for that though.

“Don’t say weird shit like that.”

They both remained silent after that.

**Author's Note:**

> been in a bit of a slump with writing, forgive me  
> i see a lot of iason fanon where he disapproves of rikis smoking but i never see anyone talking about how much wine he drinks lol  
> random tidbits: i would have set this in daryl era but i like the idea of once iason finally realises he loves riki waking up one day in a panic thinking about rikis inevitable mortality and how the cigarettes are speeding that up and just going "oh shit"
> 
> i dont have anyone checking for spelling/grammar errors so sorry if there are any!  
> thanks for reading


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